Melanie Gretchen, based in New York, is executive producer, writer, and principal actor in the award-winning short film "Like a PowerPoint," in which a man and woman negotiate the expectations of their romance.

Since it premiered last September at the Paris Independent Fim Festival, it has won 21 awards for acting, directing and composing.

From the Bay Area, she went to school in the Philippines, Malta and Denver, where she studied journalism, theater, and film. Since arriving in New York, Melanie has worked with Lincoln Center in the Mostly Mozart Festival and with Pulse Ensemble Theater.

She is the 10th person ever to complete Karen Kohlhaas's 20 Monologue Challenge, to perform 20 memorized pieces consecutively, in the 10 to 15 years that Karen has offered it.

In addition, she is a Founding Supporter of the Tennessee Williams Rectory Museum in Clarksdale, Missippi, where the playwright grew up, and coaches softaball around New York City.